Always a Half Hour Ahead

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

It has been said, that it often takes travels to other places and getting away from our normal mundane lives to remind us to look right under our noses, at the wonders of our own homes. So my next posts will be about home (Newfoundland and Labrador), which is on the edge of the continent where one can catch the first sunrises (or the dawning of a new millennium) in North America; a place where our language is a mosaic of words, phrases, accents and regional dialects; where Vikings roamed and settled over 1000 years ago; where fossils over 565 million years old can be found; where iceberg alley is a place; and while in Newfoundland, you're always a half hour ahead (we have our own time zone).   

(Photo by G. Whiteway)

Welcome to the eastern edge of North American. We have over 29,000 kilometres of rocky shoreline dotted with seastacks, beaches and lighthouses. If you are a lighthouse aficionado, this is place to visit. I'm not sure how many we have, but there are hundreds. Well I am going to hazard a guess, I won't be visiting all of them in this lifetime. Not really surprising, considering our coastline is laden with submerged rock, shoals, inlets, icebergs and fog.  Oh yes fog, the Grand Banks is the foggiest place on earth, and the town of Argentia ties as the foggiest land based place in the world (with Point Reyes, California), having over 200 days of fog a year. The following are some of the more easily accessible, well known and beautiful lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador. Some the photos included here were taken by my husband Geoff Whiteway, he's the one that gets up in the wee hours of the morning (~4 AM) to catch the sunrise, while I head out to the golf course a few hours later!

Cape Spear

Original Cape Spear Lighthouse (G. Whiteway)

Cape Spear is a rocky, windswept promontory of rock that has a thin, sporadic cover of till and bog (sounds so inviting). Cape Spear always seem to have visitors regardless of the time of year or weather, many of whom are locals. Within 30 minutes or less from most areas of St. John's, the level of traffic is not surprising and it is a favourite with photographers of all levels as well as nature lovers in general. Sunrise at Cape Spear is a wondrous experience (as the photos can attest) with the sky being saturated with hues of yellows, oranges and reds. It is home to Newfoundland’s oldest surviving lighthouse that was built in 1836 and was in continuous use until 1955, manned by several generations of the Cantwell family. A modern structure was built in 1995 using the active light from the original lighthouse. In 1962 Cape Spear was declared a National Historic Park. 

Cape Spear (G. Whiteway)

Sunrise at Cape Spear on a Foggy Day (G. Whiteway)

Ferryland 

An hour drive from St. John’s you can find the Ferryland lighthouse built in 1870 and this is the location for Lighthouse Picnics, a unique venture that offers fabulous food in combination with history, culture, and whale watching. Not only does Ferryland have another beautiful lighthouse but it is also where Lord Baltimore, founded the Colony of Avalon in 1621; a location earlier used by the French, Spanish, and Portuguese as a fishing harbour. In Ferryland, you can watch archaeologists as they uncover the foundations of houses built in the 17th century. The artefact's uncovered in Ferryland can be viewed at the nearby interpretation centre.

Ferryland Lighthouse (G. Whiteway)

Cape Bonavista

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), an Italian navigator and explorer declared “O Buona Vista!”, upon citing land in 1497. The actual landing site is a widely debated topic (with Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nova Scotia and others laying claim to that honour); nevertheless this is how Cape Bonavista received its name. The lighthouse was built in 1843 and while it still stands, it no longer functions.  The current active light is a steel tower built in 1966 beside the old lighthouse. The lighthouse is approximately 6 kilometres from town of Bonavista (~3.5 hour drive from St. John's) and is well worth the side trip.  This is one of my favourite detours en-route home to St. John’s from Terra Nova National Park. Bonavista has a picturesque lighthouse; it is a quintessential Newfoundland fishing town; is a hop, skip and jump from Elliston and the Dungeons; and finally they have one of my favourite Newfoundland restaurants (the Oceanview, open seasonally). They have become a yearly visit for us sometime during late May through end of August (puffin time at Elliston).

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse ( G. whiteway)

Cape Race And Cape Pine 

Pine Cove Lighthouse

Cape Race and the Titanic will be forever intertwined in history. The titanic was in constant communication with Cape Race on its Marconi wireless prior to hitting the iceberg as passengers passed along greetings and messages to people on land throughout North America. Cape Race was instrumental in coordinating the Titanic rescue with the Carpathia and other nearby vessels, that had wireless sets. Cape Race has an ancient history and was found on many earliest maps of the new world, as it was considered to be a critical point for marine navigation in the early days of transatlantic travel and many sailing vessel had wrecked upon its rocky shore. Cape Race can be considered isolated by any modern standard with the nearest town approximately 30 kilometres away by an unpaved road (~3 hour drive from St. John's). The lighthouse at Cape Race was built in 1856, updated in 1907 and was built in conjunction with the Cape Pine Lighthouse (~2.5 hour drive from St. John's) built in 1851. See http://www.receivingtitanic.com/cape-race for additional information.

Cape Race Lighthouse

 Fort Amherst

Fort Amherst from Signal Hill

The Fort Amherst Lighthouse is located at South Head of St. John's Harbour overlooking “the narrows”, on the site of the old Fort Amherst. The original lighthouse at Fort Amherst was built in 1813 and was the first lighthouse built in Newfoundland. It operated until 1835 by voluntary contribution from vessels entering the harbour. It was replaced by a new structure in 1852. That building was demolished in 1952 making way for the current structure. The lighthouse was manned until 1982.  Both dwellings associated with the lighthouse have been beautifully renovated and are available as vacation rentals.

Forth Amherst Lighthouse at Sunrise (G. Whiteway)

A few Other Lighthouses In Newfoundland

Lobster cove Lighthouse, Rocky Harbour (7.5 Hours from St. John's)

St. Anthony Lighthouse (12.5 hours from St. John's)

Trinity Lighthouse
(3.5 hours from St. John's)

The following sites can provide additional information on most of the lighthouses highlighted.

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/  (Fantastic site and an extensive collection and database of information about lighthouses in Canada and the United States). 

http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/ 

http://www.receivingtitanic.com/cape-race

Hearts  Content Lighthouse
(1.5 hours from St. John's)

The driving distances noted assumes an uninterrupted drive based on the most direct route, not likely to happen. So, this is the place where the day first dawns, where whales frolic, seabirds abound, stately icebergs drift slowly by, hundreds of lighthouse can be found and yes we are always a half hour ahead!  

Link to the Newfoundland and Labrador Half Hour TV ad.